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[Aeon Blue]

How do you do it? I only embark on flat areas now because it becomes too difficult to protect incoming caravans otherwise. Sometimes, on a more mountainous map, merchants will spawn in some high, weird place and get crushed by an ambush, and then I'll have to spend time and risk lives disposing of their useless crap. Sending military after them means dwarves running crazy all over different z levels, which makes them a pain to track.

[Mickey Blue]

Most people seem to like flat terrain for similar reasons.  I think they are supposed to come in via a road if you build one but I don't think it works yet (maybe with the next caravan update) for now.. Tough it out soldier..

[Urist Imiknorris]

The road thing was for the old 2d version.

I prefer to simply send out my soldiers to the caravan's location when they arrive and put marksdwarves on the walls. The liaison or diplomat's safety is purely optional.

[Lagslayer]

I just send out my military to protect them. Or let them take their chances.

[Mickey Blue]

I generally make my trade depot in a separate segment from my normal base so that they can move in there, I can shut the door remotely from the inside and then deal with whatever got in.

[Crazy Cow]

"Protection?" Protection is for humans. Protect human caravans with your entire military might, and get out once they retreat to safety. Elves, dwarves, or others? Laugh as they die, forbid everything and pick through the spoils later.

[Lagslayer]

"Protection?" Protection is for humans. Protect human caravans with your entire military might, and get out once they retreat to safety. Elves, dwarves, or others? Laugh as they die, forbid everything and pick through the spoils later.

If humans deserve protection, then surely the dwarven caravan deserves it as well. Not that the dwarves will typically need your help, as their guards are pretty badass. The elves and occasionally goblins can play ambush roulette for all I care, so long as I don't need more wood.

[Sutremaine]

I send guards on patrol around the map edge on the 10th or so and withdraw them once the last trader in the chain will reach the barracks before anything chasing them does. Any siege or ambush that arrives in that window will get splattered all over the map edge, but otherwise enemies and their accompanying crap get delivered right to my front door.

[Oaktree]

My general approach is to get the caravan into a tunnel ASAP.  This cuts the ambush chances down, and also generally prevents the "merchant flees the wrong way and gets murdered - sometimes after a merry chase" phenomena that often happens on the surface.  I've been centering my Trade Depot on a set of branching tunnels that have lever operated drawbridges near the Depot and also near the surface entrances to control access - that allows control of which approaches are open at any given time.

As these tunnels get improved they often get goblinite collectors, animal watchpoints, marksdwarf galleries, etc. installed as well.  And a tree-cutting expedition is only exposed for a limited time compared to a long tramp across the surface.

Dwarves rule the underground - so use it to your advantage.

[VerdantSF]

My general approach is to get the caravan into a tunnel ASAP.  This cuts the ambush chances down, and also generally prevents the "merchant flees the wrong way and gets murdered - sometimes after a merry chase" phenomena that often happens on the surface.  I've been centering my Trade Depot on a set of branching tunnels that have lever operated drawbridges near the Depot and also near the surface entrances to control access - that allows control of which approaches are open at any given time...

Dwarves rule the underground - so use it to your advantage.

OMG.  I can't believe I never thought of this!  You've totally changed the course of my current fortress!

[Dorf3000]

Tunnel to the map edge + airlocked Trade Depot is practically foolproof, the caravan spawns right at the tunnel entrance as it's the only point where they can reach the depot, and ambushes generally don't wander in because there's nothing reachable in the tunnel except the depot, and even that gets blocked off when you allow dwarf access.  The only problems are thieves and ambushes that spawn in the same spot as the caravan, which you can't do much about anyway.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Tunnel to the map edge + airlocked Trade Depot is practically foolproof, the caravan spawns right at the tunnel entrance as it's the only point where they can reach the depot, and ambushes generally don't wander in because there's nothing reachable in the tunnel except the depot, and even that gets blocked off when you allow dwarf access.  The only problems are thieves and ambushes that spawn in the same spot as the caravan, which you can't do much about anyway.

I don't understand that.  You can't tunnel the last tile to the map edge.  If the tunnel doesn't reach the map edge, then the depot is reachable from any map edge, and traders will spawn wherever.  I can imagine that ambushes don't wander in, but that's little comfort if the merchants have to travel over any significant part of the map to enter the tunnel, running into who knows what.

When I tried building and raising bridges to block off portions of the map from the trade depot, elven and human merchants (but not dwarven merchants, go figure) would spawn outside of the depot-reachable area anyways.

I've never tried actually raising bridges everywhere except where I want traders to come.  That might work, but seems, ehh, pretty cheap to me (and I imagine it'd probably spawn all invaders at that location too, making a big ol' mess of tightly packed goblins in case of a siege).  I can imagine using embark anywhere to make an actual tunnel to the map edge off of a previous embark, but would that even work?  I suspect the tunnel wouldn't be seen as a valid entry point for the merchants.

[Dorf3000]

Tunnel to the map edge + airlocked Trade Depot is practically foolproof, the caravan spawns right at the tunnel entrance as it's the only point where they can reach the depot, and ambushes generally don't wander in because there's nothing reachable in the tunnel except the depot, and even that gets blocked off when you allow dwarf access.  The only problems are thieves and ambushes that spawn in the same spot as the caravan, which you can't do much about anyway.

I don't understand that.  You can't tunnel the last tile to the map edge.  If the tunnel doesn't reach the map edge, then the depot is reachable from any map edge, and traders will spawn wherever.  I can imagine that ambushes don't wander in, but that's little comfort if the merchants have to travel over any significant part of the map to enter the tunnel, running into who knows what.

If your tunnel is at least 3 tiles wide and it emerges into daylight 1 tile from the edge of the map, then there's only a 3-tile wide path to the depot from those few squares.  If there is such a path (check the 'D' screen) then traders arrive there if they can.  The only problem is sometimes you have features outside of your embark that restrict their access to one particular side or area, and then they won't appear at your tunnel no matter what you do.  That's when you dig tunnel number 2 (or 3, or 4 if you want all sides covered)

[Fredd]

The 3 wide path for Depot access still seems to work for caravans. Since you can build drawbridges to the edge, use a set up that once the bridges are raised, acts as two walls to the edge. If this is only open path to the depot, caravans will spawn their. Bad side is diplomats and migrants will still spawn in random areas.

Code: [Select]

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WWWWWrrrWWW B is raised bridge, r is clear depot path,W is walls of fort, e is map edge.

 You can create a ambush collector site, by using bait. Since ambushers behave similar to sieges(track to any citizen, be it a dorf, or a tame animal with the intention to kill) set up the site to either kill, or imprison the ambush. An ambush moves much slower than members in a siege, since they are sneaking, but any undiscovered ambushers will move towards the bait, if they can path to it

[franti]

I modded Elf caravans to have guards. 6 Bowmen on Giant Tigers are enough to handle a squad of Lashers.